Cigarette dispensing pocket case



' y 1 H. w. WO-ODSON, SR 2,887,248

CIGARETTE DISPENSING POCKET CASE Filed NOV. 14, 1955 INVENTOR. HUGHESW.WOODSON SR.

ATTORNEY invention relates to a cigarette dispensing pocket case or,more particularly, a-cigarette case which can readily be carried aboutin the pocket of-the user and frqmwhich. single cigarettes can bemechanically ejected e ne de r r Cigarette,dispensing pocket cases areold. Normally they comprise: a case providing. space for one ormore rows;of vertically arranged cigarettes extending horizontally from therearto the front of the case, the case having an openingin its top wall forthe delivery of the foremost or ,leadtcigarette at the front end of therow; 'a spring follower pushing the cigarettes forwardly toward the,front end of the case; and an ejector for l fting the foremost orleadcigarette at the front end of the case upwardly through its deliveryopening. "These, devices have notjbeen too successful. Some are toocomplicated me- "2,887,248 Patented May 19 1959 Case The case providesspace for two adjacent rows of verti cally arranged cigarettes extendingin single file forma tion horizontally from the rear end of the casetdthe front end thereof with the cigarettes of one row staggered inrelation to the cigarettes of the other row, the case also providing anopening for the delivery of cigarettes from the front end of each row.The case, as a whole, has two major faces and 4 perimetric walls. It iscomposed of a front part F and a rear part R telescopically connectedtogether. i i

The front part F; as shown in Figure 1, comprises a single sheet ofmetal fabricated to have top, front and bottom perimetric walls'l, 2 and3, and one vertical side wall 4 providing one face of the case, thisfront part being open at its rear perimetric end and along its otherside face except for the marginal face flanges 5, 6 and 7 on walls 1, 2and 3 respectively. The front part F has a vertical slot 8 in its frontperimetric wall 2 and a pair of cigarette delivery openings 9 and 10 inits top perimetric wall 1.

chanically to be commercially feasible. Others fail,

for-,one reason or other, to work satisfactorily. For example,lone'common fault is that as soon as the lead cigarette is partiallyejected, the next cigarette. is apt to bemoved by the follower into avertically canted position in which it interferes withthe retraction ofthe partially eiectedlead cigarette or, after complete ejection thereof,thencanted cigarette is either damaged upon the return of theejector itor held in such a way that it cannot be successfully moved into a properdelivery position. j

:41 The principal object of the present invention is to provide;acigarette dispensing pocket case which permits the lead cigarette to bepartially ejected and then retracted .wvithoutwda'mage to. anycigarette, which permits the lead cigarette to becompletely ejected andthe ejector retracted without damage to, any cigarette and whichaccomplishes :these objectives by holding the next cigarette completelyout ofits delivery position until the lead cigarette iscompletely-ejected and the ejector is completelyretracted.

. Another important object of the present invention is to ;p'rov ide,a,cigarette dispensing pocket case which holds alhcigarettes in verticallyparallel relationship at all times randlunderconditions preventingthecanting of any cig- 8161162 41 Other important objects are; to provide adevice of this character which is simply and inexpensivelyconstructed;to provide one which is easily and quickly opened, loaded ,and-closed;and to provide one having an ejector whiclr tworks easily, quickly andconsistently without damaging wthe-cigarettes. l ;An embodiment. of theinvention is illustrated in the e 1,:accompanying drawing wherein:

I; ;Figure .1 is a perspective view of a housing member :forming thefront part of. the case;

:w Figure 2 isja perspective view of another housing mem- .ber formingthe rear part of the case;

- Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinallythroughthehousing to show the case with. a charge of ,cigarettesinit andwith one cigarette partially ejected;

Figure 4 is a side elevationalview, partly in section, of the ejectorassembly and shuttle member;

Figure 5 is a face view of the shuttle member; and

The rear part R, as shown in Fig. 2, also comprises a single sheet ofmetal fabricated to form top, rear and bottom perimetric walls 11, 12and 13 and one vertical side wall 14 providing the other face of thecase, this part R being open at its front perimetric end and along itsother side face except for the marginal face flanges 15, 16 and 17 onwalls 11, 12 and 13 respectively. a

Each of the front and rear parts has its vertical side wall, 4 or 14,dished to restrict the contact of such side Walls with the cigarettes tothe upper and lower ends of the cigarettes and thereby minimizeresistance to the movement of the cigarettes through the case. The frontpart F and the rear part R are assembled together with the front parttelescopically entering the rear part and with the side walls 4 and 14positioned to form the opposite side walls of the case. When they arefully telescoped, so thatthe side wall of each part covers the open sideface of the other part, the rear vertical edge ofside wall 4 on frontpart F extends underneath flange 16. of the rear part R and cooperatestherewith to form a simple type of spring snap latch.

The width of the space, in which the cigarettes areheld by the case, isslightly less than two full diameters of a cigarette. This is done, inaccordance with my invention, to compel the cigarettes of one row tooccupy positions which are staggered in relation to the positions of thecigarettes of the other row. Consequently, while there are two rows ofcigarettes, there can only be one lead cigarette at any one time and thetworows will'alternate in providing the lead cigarette; hence the planeof stagger between the foremost cigarettes, the lead cigarette in onerow and the front cigarette in the other row will changecorrespondingly. The phrase plane, of stagger" is used hereintodesignate a vertical plane passing through the long axes of the foremostcigarettes.

Spring follower I} the case and thus force the pusher plate 20 forwardso as to hold it yieldably against the rear cigarettes of each row. Eacharm 21 is U-shaped with its bight at its free end. These bights movetoward each other as the case is emptied, ultimately engagingeach otherwhen the case is either emptied or opened and, through such engagement,holding each other against further movement. In accordance with -myinvention,-the plate 2t) has its cigarette engaging face surfacesoffset, to a degree corresponding to the. offset or stagger of thecigarettes, so that one surface will engage the rearmost cigarette ofone row and the other surface will engage the rearmcst cigarette of theadjacent staggered row. This olfset in the plate 20 obviously helps tomaintain the cigarettes of each row in staggered relationship.

Ejector The ejector is mounted in the front end of the case for movementfrom a cigarette receiving position up- I of the Other row wardly to acigarette delivery position during which movement it engages the leadcigarette and moves thesame partially through its delivery opening. Theejector illustrated comprises: a C-shaped member 25 positioned atthe'front end of the case with its .bight extending vertically along thefront Wall 2, with its legs extending rearwardly and .with its bottomleg terminating in a pair of rearwardly diverging feet 26 and 27, one ofwhich extends under the lead cigarette of one row and the other of whichextends under the lead cigarette position of the other row; a handle 28projecting forwardly from the bight of the C-shaped member 25 andoutwardlythrough slot 8 of the front wall 2 sufliciently to permit itsbeing readily grasped for operation purposes; a vertical rod 29 mountedin the upper and lower walls of the front part of the case and extendingthrough the free ends of the legs of the ejector member 25, this rod 29being operative to guide the ejector member during its verticalmovements; and a spring 30 for biasing the member 25 in its cigarettereceiving position.

' Obviously, when the ejector member 25 is lifted, whichever of its twofeet underlies the lead cigarette will engage .thelower end ofthat'cigarette and raise the same causing it to project upwardly throughits delivery opening where it can be readily grasped by the user andremoved'from the case. When the ejector member 25 is released, thespring 30 will biasit downwardly into its. cigarette receiv- :ingposition wherein its feet 26 and 27 are positioned on alevel slightlylower than that of the lower end ofthe nearest cigarette.

Shuttle member The shuttle member .is mounted across the front end ofboth rows for back and forth oscillating movement between one cantedposition, in which it about parallels one plane of stagger, which existswhen one row provides the lead cigarette, to another canted position, inwhich it about parallels the other plane of stagger which exists whenthe other row provides the lead cigarette, the shuttle member, in eachcanted position being operative not only to hold the lead cigarette inits delivery position wherein it is aligned with its delivery opening,but also to hold the front cigarette of the other row out of itsdelivery position until the lead'cigaretteis completely ejected and the:ejector is completely retracted.

"Theshuttle member 35 comprises: a vertical plate, also designated 35,having a'verticalplanar central section, also designated 35, whichis:slotted at 36 from its lower end upwardly over a distance sufficientto accommodate the vertical movement of the ejector, the plate 35 alsohaving marginal forwardly diverging wing sections 37 and 38; upper andlower lugs 39 and 40 mounting the plate 35 on rod 29 for oscillatoryshuttle movement between one canted position, in whichits centralportion 35 more or less parallels one stagger plane and its slot 36centrally overlies one .foot 26 of the ejector, to another position, in.which its centralport-ion 35 more or less parallels the Operation Thecase preferably is"takenapart-when it is to be loaded, but it maybe'loaded without completely separating the front and rear parts F andR. When loaded and closed, one row of cigarettes will naturally'he'sta'ggered in relation to the other. The follower, in pushing both rowsforwardly, causes the leadcigarette to push against one vertical side ofthe shuttle plate 35 forcing that side of the plate to move forwardlyand the other vertical side to move rearwardly until it engages thefront cigarette With the lead cigarette in one row-and thefrontcigarettein the other row, both engaging theshuttle plat "35f, itis held in acanted position corresponding totlieprevail ing stagger plane. In thisposition, its slot 36 'cent'rally overlies one' foot, say 26; of the:ejector member 25. J In this'position, foot 26 underlies the leadcigarette-while the shuttle plate' '35 keeps the foremost-cigaretteinfthe other row-from moving over the opposite-foot 27. consequently;-onlythe lead cigarette is in a-positiontob'e ejected.- Now when'theej ectormember'ZS is' raisei its foot 26 will engage --the-lower-'end ofmenaceamu and, through such engagement, raise-the -lead 'cigai1cttecausing it to project through its delivery' opening 9} n reaching thisposition, i the fejector-fo6t 26. 'entered and passed'upwardly along'slot 36in-the shuttleplat'e 35w "Once this foot enters the slot 36,it-ope'rates to lock the shuttle plate35 its canted position." As a c'onsequence, the'front cigarette of the other row isprevented, by thelocked shuttle plate, from canting orothe'rwis'e moving forwardly. Thisfront-cigarette,-being -'1'o"cked against movement, prevents the nextcigarette of fthedead row from canting or otherwisemovingforwardly.Oonsequently, there is nothing to preventthe*complete retraction' of theejector member with'out any possibilitiy of damage toany cigarette.-'Likewise-tl1ere is:nothing'-to prevent the'lead cigarette from beingeither retrac'ted or completely ejected and, when retractedorejected;-=tirere can be no damage done to any cigarette in theease: 1 i

It will be observed that the shuttle member car'i'not move out of eitherof its canted cigarette delivering-posi tions until the ejector memberis 'fullyretrac'ted and the lead cigarette is completely ejected;Howeven when the ejector member is completely retracted and the l eadcigarette completely ejected, the follower automatically becomeseffective pushing both rows of ;cigaret'tes -for wardly sufficiently tomove the shuttle member to its other-canted cigarette deliveringposition whichacorrsponds to the other plane ofstaggerwherein the frontcigarette of the other row becomes the lead cigarettel Having describedmy invention, I claim: l

l. A cigarette dispensing device comprising: a cigai'e'ttecase'providing'space for two adjacent rows=of-vertieally arranged Icigarettes extending horizontally hetween the rear and the front of the.case with the cigarettes ofieaeh row staggered in relation to thecigarettes"of the other rowwhereby the two rows alternately' pro'vide'"a lead cigarette that is offset forwardly relativeltd -the frofitcigarette in the opposite row, saidvcase providing an opening for eachrow -'for the delivery of a Iead ei' ette from that row} a springfollower fo'r pushing-the cigarettes of both rows forwardly; in-staggered relationship; an ejector mounted, in 'the frontend of-thei*case, for movement from a receivingposition, in which it isaligned with the lead cigarette, to a deli-very" position, said ejectorbeing operative duringsuch movement to engage the lead cigarette-and"move the sa me partia'lly through its delivery opening; and a shuttlemember extending vertically within the front end of the case and acrossthe front end of both rows, said member being mounted for back and forthoscillating movement between one canted position, in which it aboutparallels the plane of stagger which exists between the lead cigaretteof one row and the front cigarette of the other row, to another cantedposition, in which it about parallels the stagger plane when the otherrow provides the lead cigarette, said shuttle member, in each position,being operative to hold the lead cigarette in its delivery positionwherein it is aligned with its delivery opening and to hold the frontcigarette of the other row out of its delivery position.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the width of the space occupied by bothrows of cigarettes is less than the sum of the diameters of twocigarettes.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein: the sides of the case are dished torestrict contact between the case and the cigarettes substantially tothe upper and lower ends of the cigarettes.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein: the cigarette engaging surfaces of thefollower are ofiset to accommodate the stagger between the cigarettes ofone row and that of the other and to maintain contact with the rearcigarettes of both rows.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein: the ejector has a pair of rearwardlydiverging feet which are vertically aligned with the delivery positionof the lead cigarette of each row.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein: the rear end of one foot is spacedforwardly from the front cigarette of one row when the other rowprovides the lead cigarette.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein: the shuttle member includes avertically arranged plate mounted for oscillating movement from oneplane of stagger, in which it engages the lead cigarette of one row andthe front cigarette of the other row, to another plane of stagger, inwhich it engages the lead cigarette of the other row and the frontcigarette of said one row.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein: the ejector is guided during itsvertical movement by a vertically extending rod mounted on the case; andthe shuttle member is mounted for oscillating movement about said rod.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein: the ejector member has a pair ofdiverging feet one of which extends under the lead cigarette of one rowand the other of which extends under the lead cigarette position of theother row; and the shuttle member has a slot to receive whichever footextends under a lead cigarette.

10. A cigarette dispenser comprising: a cigarette case accommodating tworows of vertically arranged cigarettes extending horizontally betweenthe rear and front of the case with the front cigarette of each rowalternately providing the lead cigarette, said case having a cigarettedelivery opening for the endwise removal of the lead cigarette; meansyieldably urging each successive lead cigarette into a ready positionwherein it is ready for removal through said cigarette delivery opening;an ejector mounted on the case for movement from a receiving position,in which it is operatively aligned with a lead cigarette in its readyposition, to a delivery position, said ejector being operative duringsuch movement to project the lead cigarette from its ready positionthrough said delivery opening; and holding means to prevent thesucceeding lead cigarette from being moved into its ready position untilthe preceding lead cigarette is removed from the case and the ejectormechanism is returned to its receiving position, said holding meansbeing alternately engaged by successive lead cigarettes and, throughsuch alternate engagement, moved by said yieldable means into alternatepositions, in each of which it is and remains blocked against movementto its other alternate position not only by the lead cigarette which iseffective as a block in all of its positions until it is removed fromthe case but also by the ejector mechanism Which is effective as a blockin all of its positions outside of its receiving position.

11. A cigarette dispenser comprising: a cigarette case providing spacefor two adjacent rows of vertically arranged cigarettes extendinghorizontally between the rear and the front of the case with thecigarettes of each row being staggered in relation to the cigarettes ofthe other row whereby the two rows alternately provide a lead cigarettethat is oifset forwardly relative to the front cigarette in the otherrow, said case having an opening for the delivery of a lead cigarettefrom each row; means yieldably pushing the cigarettes forward instaggered relationship; an ejector mounted in the front end of the casefor movement from a receiving position, in which it is aligned with thelead cigarette and offset relative to the front cigarette in the otherrow, to a delivery position, in which it lies in the forward movementpath of the front cigarette, said ejector being operative during suchmovement to engage the lead cigarette and push it partially through itsdelivery opening; and means separate from said ejector for holding thefront cigarette in the other row from being moved forwardly against saidejector until said ejector is again returned to said receiving position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS914,208 Waag Mar. 2, 1909 1,918,956 Belt July 18, 1933 2,499,652 KirbyMar. 7, 1950

